Free download · Excel & Google Sheets
Free recipe costing template (food cost spreadsheet)
A ready-made recipe cost card for Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers. Enter what you paid and how much you use — it converts units, adds waste, and works out cost per portion, a suggested price and your food cost %.
Works in Excel, Google Sheets (upload to Drive, then open with Sheets) and Apple Numbers. No sign-up. Includes a filled-in example (24 chocolate chip cookies) and a blank recipe sheet.
What’s in the recipe costing template
- •Recipe cost card: recipe name, how many portions it makes, your target food cost % and selling price
- •Up to 30 ingredient lines: price paid, pack size and unit, amount used and unit, waste %
- •Automatic unit conversion: kg ↔ g ↔ oz ↔ lb, litres ↔ ml ↔ cups ↔ spoons, each ↔ dozen
- •Results: total batch cost, cost per portion, suggested price, food cost % and profit per portion
- •Clear warnings when units can’t be converted (weight to volume) or a unit is misspelled
How to use the food cost spreadsheet
Make one copy of the sheet per recipe. When an ingredient price changes, update it in every recipe that uses it — or use the free CostMyDish app, which updates every recipe at once.
- •Open the “Your recipe” sheet and type the recipe name and how many portions it makes
- •For each ingredient, enter what you paid and the pack size from your receipt (for example $8.00 for 1 kg butter)
- •Enter how much the recipe uses, picking the unit from the dropdown (for example 150 g)
- •Add a waste % for anything you trim — meat, fish, fruit and vegetables
- •Read the cost per portion and suggested price at the top; add your selling price to see food cost % and profit
Prefer not to download? Use the online version
Chocolate chip cookies
Enter your price to see food cost % and profit.
The app keeps your ingredient prices. When butter goes up, every dish that uses it updates — no re-typing.
What goes on a recipe cost card
A recipe cost card (or recipe costing sheet) records everything needed to cost one recipe: each ingredient, its purchase price and pack size, the amount used, waste, the yield and the resulting cost per portion. Kitchens keep one for every menu item so prices can be checked whenever supplier costs move.
The template follows the same method professional kitchens use: line cost = (price paid ÷ pack size) × amount used ÷ (1 − waste %). Cost per portion = total ÷ portions. Suggested price = cost per portion ÷ target food cost %.
Read the step-by-step recipe costing guide →When to switch from a spreadsheet to an app
- •You have more than a handful of recipes and the same ingredient appears in many of them
- •Prices change often and you keep forgetting to update every sheet
- •You want to cost on your phone while shopping or in the kitchen
- •You sell one recipe several ways (by the slice and whole, single and box)
Outgrown the spreadsheet? The free CostMyDish app:
- ✓Saves each ingredient price once and reuses it in every recipe
- ✓Updates every recipe automatically when a price changes
- ✓Converts units for you and flags dishes over your target food cost %
- ✓Free plan: 5 dishes and 20 ingredients
Common questions
Is this recipe costing template free?+
Yes. Download it, change it and use it in your business — no sign-up or email needed.
Does it work in Google Sheets?+
Yes. Upload the .xlsx file to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets — the formulas and unit dropdowns carry over. It also opens in Excel and Apple Numbers.
Can the template convert cups to grams?+
No — cups are volume and grams are weight, and converting between them needs each ingredient’s density. Buy and use in the same kind of unit (weigh flour in grams, measure milk in ml). The sheet warns you if units don’t match.
What is a good food cost percentage to put in the template?+
Most restaurants use 28–35%, cafés 15–25% for drinks, and bakeries 25–35%. The template starts at 30% — change it to your own target.
Free calculators
Ready to cost your next dish?
Download CostMyDish free on iPhone or Android. Type what you’re making, add ingredients with what you paid, and see your cost and a selling price in about 2 minutes.
Free plan: 5 dishes and 20 ingredients. No credit card.
On a computer? Scan with
your phone camera